Xerri aims to forge his own next chapter in NRL finals

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Xerri aims to forge his own next chapter in NRL finals

Bronson Xerri longs for the day when he is no longer asked about his four-year ***** ban.

“I am looking forward to it, I’m not going to lie,” the Canterbury centre quipped.

Almost five years to the day since his only previous finals match against Manly, Xerri will return to the NRL’s biggest stage on Sunday against the Sea Eagles.

Xerri’s rollercoaster ride since that game is well known.

Eight months after Cronulla’s loss, ASADA officials knocked on the young flyer’s door and told him he had tested positive to steroids.

“I knew coming in it was always going to be a talking point for myself,” Xerri said.

“But I would like to get on with my life and get on with my career.

“So that can go past me, and it not to be the talking point. I want my football to be the talking point, and hopefully the success of this club.

“I want that to be the talking point, not my past.”

In a week where the Bulldogs’ finals return has been overshadowed by Josh Addo-Carr’s alleged roadside ***** test, Xerri has his best chance to beat his own *****-related storyline.

He has become a fixture of Canterbury’s backline, after battling through the pre-season and having admitted to barely watching football during his ban.

“There were times (when I thought I didn’t have it in me),” Xerri admitted.

“I am pretty sure Ciro (coach Cameron Ciraldo) jumped on a podcast and spoke about how there was a training session where I just couldn’t finish it.

“Ciro came up to me and said: ‘Do you still want this?’. I was so gassed, that I couldn’t speak. But the words I said were “yes, I do”.

“Because I did still want it. I knew coming in it would be hard. But I am grateful I had the staff and the teammates behind me.”

Blessed with speed, Xerri has become a strike ******* on the Bulldogs’ lethal left edge alongside Addo-Carr, and scored seven tries in his past eight games.

But even the 24-year-old has regularly allowed himself to think back to his years in exile, and the highly-publicised mental demons that came with it.

“As much as I like to put it all behind me, there are times when I think back,” Xerri said.

“It’s more of a gratitude thing, coming into training every day with a smile on my face and just being grateful for where I am and how far I have come.

“When things get tough on the field or at training, it’s something to look back on and know there have been worse times and ******* times.

“Obviously it’s been a ***** of a journey. I have always said I am forever grateful to this club for the opportunity.”

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